Brighter Days
by Moony-Blues
Summary: Cain and Zero were partners in the Central City Police Force and close friends. Some even said that they were practically brothers. They shared a deep trust. Then things went wrong and that trust was broken. Find out why Wyatt Cain trusts no one. R&R plz.
1. The Academy

Chapter 1 – The Academy

"Adora, I thought we'd talked about this already," he said, slightly exasperated and mildly confused.

"Yes, Wyatt," came his young wife's response from across the kitchen. "We talked about it; _we_ didn't decide on it."

Eighteen-year-old Wyatt Cain made that sound in the back of his throat, somewhere between a grunt and a growl, which Adora thought he had learned from his father a little too well. She set down the plate she was washing and turned away from the sink. Placing both hands on her hips, she leaned back against the counter. _Uh oh…I'm in trouble_, he thought. _She only stands like that when she's mad._ They'd only been married a few weeks, but he was quickly becoming an expert at reading his seventeen-year-old wife's body language. _If only I'd mastered it __before__ we got married…_

"You know that my wage at the shop isn't going to pay the bills if you go to the Academy. How are we going to eat if you aren't working?"

"I've already talked to my boss at the stables. He said he'd work with me."

"And how long is that going to last, Wyatt, before he starts cutting back your schedule because he's figured out that you're leaving as soon as you graduate: a month, maybe two?"

"So, you'd rather me make a career out of being a stable-boy than try to find a better one just because money's going to get tight?"

"Yes," she said frankly and with a slight bite. _Wrong move…try to smooth her feathers, not ruffle them further._ Even being a newlywed, he knew that a happy wife made a happy home. He paused for a moment before continuing, trying to find the right words.

"Adora, the Academy is only going to take nine months. Nine months…that's it and then it's done. If I graduate with high enough marks, I'll be guaranteed a position on the Central City Police force, making four times what I get at the stables, and you'll be able to quit the shop, if you want, and the only person you'll ever have to sew for again will be me."

She crossed her hands over her chest and he fought himself to keep from releasing a breath of relief, recognizing the subtle tell that she was beginning to come around to his point of view. "That's a big _if_, Wyatt…a really big _if_. What if you don't make the marks? We both know how dismal a student you are." She was right. If it hadn't been for her drilling him, he never would have made it out of secondary.

"With you around to help me study," he said with a grin and a little twinkle in his eye, "how can I fail?" He saw the corners of her mouth lift and he dared to walk across the room. "It's going to work out…I know this is the right decision, and the acceptance letter only proves it."

She looked up at him and asked, "I hope you're right." He tipped her chin up with one hand, putting the other arm around her waist.

"We'll make it," he said confidently as he kissed her forehead. He did breathe a sigh of relief when he felt her arms wrap around him. She buried her head in his chest and he rested his cheek against the top of her head.

_We'll make it…_ he reassured himself.

* * *

Author's Notes: Kinda short for a beginning, I know. Please review if you like the idea! 

Disclaimer for the **entire** piece: I don't own Tin Man, nor do I claim any rights thereof.


	2. Cadets

Chapter 2 – Cadets

Wyatt shifted nervously in his new cadet's uniform while he sat at the back of the small classroom waiting for the first of many lectures to begin. He looked around at the other young men in the room, recognizing a few and knowing that he was likely to be the only one there that was already married. The others were all talking about either their "sweethearts" or their latest conquests of the female world. There was one in particular, a kid by the name of Johnson, that Cain particularly wanted to be around when he finally got his wake-up call. _Actually, I'll settle for seeing the hand print acros__s his face after he meets a real woman_

"Is this seat taken?" asked a voice beside him. Wyatt jerked out of his thoughts and looked up.

"No, it's not," he replied to the man standing next to him. Cain could immediately tell that the newcomer was older than him, but not by much, and he caught a glimpse of a ring on the newcomer's left hand. _Thank the gods…I'm not the only married one in the bunch._ "I'm Wyatt Cain," he said as he offered his hand for a shake. He gave the other man a calculated look: dirty blonde hair, steel grey eyes, same height as Cain, thick through the shoulders but narrow everywhere else.

"Nells Smith," said the other man, "but most of my friends call me 'Zero.'"

Cain smiled. "How'd you end up with that name?"

"I don't rightly know, actually," said Zero with a small chuckle, "but someone called me that one day and it kind of stuck."

Cain looked pointedly again at Zero's left hand. "Let me just say that I'm glad I'm not the only guy here wearing one of those."

Zero looked down and said, "Yeah…it looks like it's just the two of us, though, from the behavior of those characters."

"I've been listening in for a bit, and I'm pretty sure that we're going to see Johnson, the one sitting on the left table, walk in with a hand print on his face someday."

Zero chuckled again, a low rumble, and said, "It never gets old watching some young pup finally realize that he's not the big dog that he thought he was."

Their conversation was cut short at that moment as the instructor for the orientation meeting came in. The day was a hellish mixture of boring lectures and grueling physical training tests. Being a stable-boy, he thought he was in better shape than the others, but that didn't mean that the drills were a cake walk. At the end of their last run for the day, all of the cadets were bent over, hands on knees, puffing and out of breath. The instructor, who didn't even seem winded even though he'd run all of the drills with them, laughed at all of them before he dismissed them.

Wyatt's legs felt like rubber as he walked to the humble apartment he shared with Adora. He didn't want to think about having to work in the stables later that night. Thankfully, he had a little bit of time to rest before he had to leave again. When he got home, Adora still hadn't returned from the seamstress' shop where she worked, so he collapsed on their bed, trusting her to wake him when she did.

Adora found him about an hour later, but didn't bother to disturb him until she nearly had their meal ready. When she did go into the bedroom, she watched him just for a few moments, a smile playing at her lips. She still couldn't quite believe that she'd actually managed to get him to fall in love with her, much less marry her. They'd been childhood sweethearts, but all of her friends had thought that he was the handsomest boy in school, so her competition had been pretty fierce.

Her smile broadened as she remembered his proposal the year before. He'd fumbled it terribly but adorably. She couldn't decided what was funnier, him dropping the ring or his blush when he couldn't actually get the words out. Supposing that he did the best he could for a nervous young man of only seventeen annuals, she'd accepted his proposal before he could actually get the question out.

Her father hadn't minded…except for the fact that Wyatt hadn't had a well-paying job. She hadn't known at the time that he'd told her father of his plans to attend the Academy, and she certainly wasn't going to tell him that her father had told her about that little detail just a few days after he'd received his acceptance letter. She also wasn't going to tell him that her father had given her the extra money to buy the small ham that was on the table that night. Adora's father believed in Wyatt, a thought that warmed her heart and soothed her worries, and he was going to do what he could to help his son-in-law. Of course, the fact that their families had been close friends for years helped the situation some.

Reluctantly, Adora shook his shoulder, laughing at the bleary look in his eyes as he started awake. She adored this man…


	3. Dinner With Friends

Chapter 3 – Dinner with Friends

The next day, Cain and Zero chatted for a while at lunch.

"So," started Cain, "why did you come to the Academy?"

"I needed a new career, actually," replied Zero with a humorless grin. "Otherwise, I'm fairly sure my father-in-law would have broken several…valuable parts of my anatomy." Cain barked out a laugh. "What about you?"

"It's something I've always wanted, I guess. My folks tried to raise me with what my wife sometimes calls an 'idiotic sense of nobility.' I was usually the kid in primary that ended up coming home with a bloody nose because some bully was picking on a kid half his size and I decided to do something about it. So, when a recruiter showed up when I was in secondary, it seemed to fit."

Zero smirked. "In other words, you were born with the noble character my father-in-law is threatening to beat into me. When he found out that Lizzie and I had… well, committed certain indiscretions that were against his traditional values, let's just say I nearly ended up with a face full of buckshot."

"Shot-gun wedding?" asked Cain knowingly.

"As soon as he found out she was pregnant, he didn't even let me explain that I'd already proposed," said Zero with a wry grin on his face. "I do love my wife and I'm excited about being a dad myself soon, but her father is a bit…heavy handed. He's the one paying for me to get through the Academy so that his daughter will have what he calls a 'respectable home.'"

"And what did you do before?"

"Private security…at a tavern," he said with a really big grin.

"I can see why he'd take exception to that," said Cain.

"The ironic thing is that he's a regular patron of said tavern." Both young men laughed heartily at that.

Wyatt settled into his new pace of life fairly easily, a testament to his youth. He spent his days at the Academy, sitting through lectures, running physical training drills, and improving his aim at the firing range. Every day, he'd come home and collapse on the bed for at least an hour before Adora came home to wake him. He could have a quick dinner each evening before reporting to the stables. He came home again at midnight every night, sliding under the covers next to Adora after washing up. They usually woke early enough each morning to enjoy those pleasures that came with being married before they both had to leave, Adora for her job and Wyatt for the Academy. She missed him in the evenings, but she kept reminding herself that it was only a temporary situation.

Cain and Zero developed an easy rapport. They were both a different caliper of man than their fellow cadets, Zero because of his age, the oldest recruit at the age of 21, and Cain because of his maturity, the cadet with the most natural talent for leadership. Of course, they both still had their wild hairs, but they didn't consider themselves to be annoying as the rest. There was even a friendly competition in their camaraderie. With Adora's gentle yet firm drilling at home, Cain was vying with Zero for the top marks in the class. Even though the older cadet was being pushed into a new life, pride drove him to try and out-do his younger classmates.

On his rare days off from both the Academy and the stables, Cain spent as much time with his wife as he could to try and make up for not being there as much as she probably needed. They would curl up together on their small divan on those evenings, her soft form lying tightly wrapped in his arms, staring into the fire and talking about nothing in particular.

Adora considered Wyatt to be a peculiar sort of man, not that she was complaining. He was what her mother called an "old soul," a strange mix of youth of looks and maturity of manner. So she wasn't surprised when he told her about his newfound friendship. In fact, she'd heard so much about the man called Zero that she suggested that they invite Zero and his wife over for dinner.

"Are you sure?" he asked, laying his chin on her bare stomach one morning and looking up into her warm green eyes. "It would take away one of my only two days with you this month."

She merely nodded at him with a small smile on her lips. "I'd like to meet him, and Lizzie."

Two weeks passed and found a small dining room stuffed with four people who were laughing like they'd all been friends for longer than two hours.

"I swear to the gods," said Wyatt as he tried to catch his breath, "the guy is standing there, in the street, watching her walk away, and rubbing at his jaw, the bruise from her hand just beginning to show. And he couldn't figure out what he'd said!"

They all laughed genially at Johnson's misfortunes. Lizzie drew in a sharp breath, rubbing a pain in her slightly swollen belly. Zero's eyes darkened a little bit as he reached for her elbow.

"I'm fine," said the brunette with bright hazel eyes. "It's just a stitch from laughing, Nells."

"How far are you?" asked Adora.

"The doctors say four months," answered Lizzie. Adora couldn't believe it. "They also say that the baby's growing really fast, but I think they've got the due date wrong," she said with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Do you have any names picked out yet?" Wyatt and Zero looked at each other with slight smiles, having already known that the women would eventually turn the conversation to family matters.

"Zane if it's a boy, Lyza if it's a girl. And of course, whether it's a boy or girl depends on who you talk to. I want a girl, but Nells is really hoping that it's a boy." Adora just smiled, turning her eyes to Wyatt, who blushed slightly at her.

They passed the rest of the evening amicably, the women bonding easily and the men enjoying a break from their normal routines. It was an evening that was repeated a few times throughout the rest of the term at the academy, with the addition of baby Zane who came a month early according to the doctors.

Before either Zero or Cain really realized it, it was time for final exams and field tests. Cain, who had proven his worth in the saddle and firing range, found himself hard put in the written portions of the tests. He turned in his last papers with a heavy sigh before walking to the mess hall to join the others to wait for the final scores. An hour passed with them all pacing, comparing mental notes and all dreading that they'd failed. When an instructor finally did come and post the notice, no one wanted to be the first to look. Zero finally stood from the chair over which he'd draped himself and walked over to the notice board. His eyes widened as he hung his head low and walked out the door. Intrigued, Cain walked to the board, blinking twice to make sure that he read the notice properly. A smile beamed from his face when he confirmed that he'd beaten Zero out for top marks.

* * *

Author's Notes: Cookies to whoever finds the Firefly reference first. And, yes, both Cain and Adora are very young. I'm trying to explain some of the reason why Jeb is a little wiser than his annuals. I honestly don't think that it's purely because of what happened to him through his life. I really think he probably inherited some of his nature from his dad. 


	4. Graduation

Chapter 4 – Graduation

Wyatt tugged uncomfortably at the collar of his new dress uniform. He hated frippery and finery, and had barely been able to tolerate his cadet's uniform at the Academy. This new stiff piece of woolen regalia was the cruelest form of torture ever devised by man. He desperately wanted to pull the top three buttons loose and open the collar in his typical relaxed fashion, but he knew that Adora would only re-button them right before they walked out the door. He growled at his reflection in the mirror.

"You do that too well, Wyatt," said Adora as she walked in from their washroom, still fastening an earring.

"I can't help it if this damn uniform makes me uncomfortable. It's supposedly made of wool, but it feels like it's a tin suit," he said, remembering an ancient story of a tin woodsman who had once been left in charge of Central City and feeling more sympathetic to the man then more than he ever had before.

"You're just ruffled because you can't bare that adorable chest of yours," she giggled. She walked up behind him, standing on her toes to put her chin on his shoulder and wrap her arms around his middle. "It looks absolutely fantastic on you, by the way, especially in the back." Her eyes twinkled impishly.

He turned around, pulling her against him firmly, tipping her back to kiss up her neck, all the way up to nibble on her ear, and then back down her jaw. Her breath hitched in her throat just as he came to her lips, where he placed a mere peck, then released her from his arms abruptly. She pouted and he laughed at her frustration.

"You're not the only one who knows how to tease," he said with a broad smile. Then he noticed her dress. She was wearing a simply cut and stitched cotton dress in a very subtle shade of purple that set off her light brown hair and green eyes beautifully. The empire waist was tied with a ribbon that was a darker shade of amethyst. The sleeves were loose and layered and they fluttered around her arms lightly. She was breath-taking in the simply stated yet elegant dress that had obviously been made just for her. He let out a long wolf-whistle as she twirled around, the skirt of the dress floating gracefully around her knees. "It's a shame I don't get to take you out in that tonight…"

"Honestly, I'd rather let you go with the guys tonight and work off some of that tension before you come home," she said.

He gathered her back into his arms, finally letting his lips come to hers in a long kiss. "I could come home and we could both work out that tension here," he said hungrily.

"Yeah, that's what I'm trying to avoid," she said playfully. "I'd like to be able to walk tomorrow when mother and father come for the party, thank you very much."

"You've never been that sore!"

"I was the day after our wedding, and you're almost as wound up now as you were then. No, I'd rather have you slightly worn out already when we have our own private celebration tonight." She smiled broadly at him, a teasing gleam in her eyes.

"Hmm…" he murmured as he kissed along her jaw again. "Is that a promise?"

"You bet, Officer Cain," she said, using his new title for the first time. She disentangled herself from his arms. "Come on, we're going to be late if we don't leave now, and it wouldn't do for the top of the class to be tardy to graduation." She took his elbow and he escorted her to the Academy.

* * *

Because their husbands had to sit with the graduating class, which was just barely over half of the men who entered the class nine months before, Adora and Lizzie sat together in the middle of their two families. Four-month-old baby Zane had been left with Lizzie's sisters for the ceremony, but all four sets of parents were there, including Lizzie's heavy-handed father, who actually was very proud of his son-in-law at the moment. Of course, no one beamed with pride more than the wives of the top two students of the class. Adora noticed, though, that her husband looked incredibly young and just slightly pale as he marched across the stage to receive his badge and plaque. She took advantage of the opportunity to once again admire his backside in the tight, light beige pants. 

Wyatt's palms were sweating, and he didn't hear a word of what the speakers said that afternoon. He was only concentrating on walking across the stage without tripping on his feet, which now felt like they were encased in buckets of hardened cement. He hated big, fancy affairs, almost as much as he hated the uniform he was wearing, and was incredibly uncomfortable with all of the attention he was receiving as the top of the class. If he'd known that they'd single him out for a trip onstage to receive the gaudy plaque he now held, he wouldn't have tried so hard. Only when the head instructor introduced the newest members of the Central City Police force, who all let out a cheer that roared through the room, did Cain actually tune into his surroundings. He felt a hand clap on his shoulder, and he turned to see Zero standing with a bemused look on his face and holding his own plaque, slightly smaller than Wyatt's.

"Are we going to have to find a paper bag?" he asked, slightly concerned at his friends pallor.

"No," said the younger man as he reached to undo the top three buttons of his jacket. He immediately felt better, like he could finally breathe again, and some of his color returned. "I'm fine, I just hate tight collars." Zero grinned in commiseration as he undid the top button of his own collar. They turned and walked into the crowd to find their families.

There were hugs all around from proud parents and parents-in-law for both men, though Zero's father-in-law settled for a very firm handshake. Much confusion and chatter followed as plans were made for the next day for both parties, as Cain and Zero were celebrating separately with their families. A shout came from the rest of the graduates, and Cain and Zero were swept off for their celebration at the nearest tavern, which was the customary host of the Academy's graduating class. The two families separated, each walking the wives home.

At the tavern, there was a general uproar of celebration as the head instructor ordered the graduates their first round of drinks. They ate, drank, and made merry for quite a while before some of the other patrons got a little testy over the noise. The barman and owner didn't do anything to break up the party though. He kept reminding people that they were in a tavern, not a restaurant, and if they wanted quiet then they should probably go home. One man in particular, however, wasn't satisfied.

"Barm'n!" he shouted, slurring in his drunken state. "Yoo tell thozhe li'l _punks_ that thish is a private establishment…and _we_," he gestured to the rest of the room, most of whom didn't actually mind the noise, "wood like to bee able to drink in pieces."

"If you want to drink in peace, then you'd better head home, Jenks," said the barman, who was not about to throw out his most profitable party of the night.

"Well," said the patron, stumbling up from his stool, "if yoo won' do it, then _I_ will!" He marched over to the table and poked Wyatt on the shoulder until he turned around. "Ethcuse me, gen'lemen, but I'm shoor I'm nah the on'y one here who'd like you all to jus' shu'the hell up an' go 'ome!"

Zero, who had just been preparing to raise a toast, rose from his chair beside Cain. He put his hand on Jenks' shoulder and guided him back to the bar, setting him back down on a stool. Then, Jenks did something very stupid, even for a drunk man in a bar. He stood back up, balled his fist, and tried to punch Zero, his hand landing like a wet noodle on the new Tin Man's jaw. Without thinking, Zero shoved the man back down on the barstool hard enough that Jenks slid off, hitting his head on the bar, and passed out on the floor.

After that, all hell broke loose. What had started as a disagreement turned into an all-out bar brawl. Cain leapt up from his seat and hurried to where Zero had been waylaid by two more men, who had not had nearly as much as Jenks to drink. He was followed by a few of the other grads, who tried to break up the fight. Somewhere along the way, Cain ducked to avoid a chair that someone had thrown only to be caught in the eye by someone's fist. He immediately decided that the only way this evening could end was with all of them in a jail cell if he didn't at least get Zero out of there. He grabbed the slightly larger man, pushing him to the door with all of the strength in his body.

After successfully extracting himself and Zero from the bar, they both ran from the establishment. They got about three blocks away before they both stopped, slightly short of breath, and leaned against a brick wall. Zero looked at Cain, and both of them laughed.

"So much for our first day as Tin Men," said Cain.

"I wonder if they can pull our badges before our actual first day on the force…"

"I don't know, but I sure as hell am not looking forward to meeting the chief after this."

The both enjoyed a few moments of laughter before turning to walk home.

* * *

Author's Notes: Cookies go to Rach4, who correctly spotted 'idiotic sense of nobility' as the Firefly reference. Inara says that of Mal to Fess Higgins in 'Jaynestown.' You know, for all the hits I'm getting, the reviews are pretty quiet. 


	5. Sin City Square

For Palis Delon.

Chapter 5 – Sin City Square

Cain and Zero reported to the Central City Police station the next week, both a bit skittish about whether or not they'd be reprimanded for the brawl. They were relieved when the chief told them that they both still had jobs, but were less than pleased when he told them what their first assignment would be: a mounted beat in the entertainment district, more commonly referred to as Sin City Square. Wyatt had given his customary half-groan, half-growl at the news. Zero hadn't said anything. They'd both heard nightmares about Sin City Square in the Academy, and neither one was particularly thrilled about spending their first few months on the squad rounding up prostitutes, drug addicts, and loiterers.

His first week nearly drove Wyatt insane. If the noise, din, and hubbub weren't bad enough, there were the denizens who either sneered, spat, or jeered at the two new Tin Men. One of the prostitutes, who was too drunk to recognize Cain's uniform, actually tried to proposition him. Zero had teased him mercilessly about it as they cuffed the girl and draped her over one of the saddles because she'd passed out just as they were trying to get her situated on the horse.

"Maybe you should stop undoing those three top buttons of your uniform as soon as we leave the station," he said with a snarky smile. Wyatt just glared.

"I'm not mentioning this little escapade to Adora," he said through clenched teeth when they'd managed to get the whore into a cell, setting an edge to his voice, "so I would appreciate it if you wouldn't say anything this weekend." Zero laughed.

All else went well for the two rookies. The two young men became an efficient team in the Square, quickly topping their former classmates in arrests, though that might have had something to do with their location. He soon learned names of people who made good informants, as well as names of people who bore some close watching. One particularly greasy maggot was a man named Antoine DeMilo, who sold "gratifications." Cain suspected that DeMilo mixed opium in with sugar water and sold it for exorbitant rates, but he couldn't prove it without compromising a bigger investigation, so he settled for dogging the little man's steps whenever he could.

They hadn't been on the force for a year yet before the Chief of Police assigned them both to the narcotics task force. Opium trafficking was a big problem, and a big business, in the Outer Zone. Adora and Lizzie both worried about their husbands constantly, but Wyatt and Zero preferred raiding warehouses to arresting unarmed prostitutes. Each day that passed reinforced the trust between the two partners. But the job wasn't safe. Wyatt kept reminding himself that each time they went out on another raid. It was a lesson that both Cain and Zero learned the hard way.

They were positioned outside a small house in the slums district. Inside was a small opiate processing operation. It was supposed to be a simple, in and out operation. They were wrong.

Wyatt was crouched low, coming across the open yard with a team carrying a battering ram, when he felt Zero push him to the ground and then heard the gunshot as the other man groaned. Shouting and more gunshots tore through the air. Cain scrambled to cover Zero, noting the heavily bleeding wound through the back of his left shoulder. He didn't know how they managed to not get hit again, especially after he started dragging Zero to cover behind a wood pile. Once they were covered, he covered Zero's shoulder and put pressure on the wound. Zero inhaled sharply through grinding teeth.

A shout came from inside the building and more shots were fired. Wyatt drowned out the goings on around him, calling out, "Man down! We need a medic!" Several long minutes passed before the shooting calmed and someone came, pulling gauze from a kit.

"It's a flesh wound," the man said after a quick appraisal, "but he is bleeding badly and the bullet is still in the wound, probably lodged against his shoulder blade. Must have been a crappy gun. I've got to get him out of here and to a trauma center."

Wyatt nodded as the medic called for a stretcher. He found himself pacing the length of the waiting room in a small hospital two hours later. Zero was in surgery to remove the bullet before the resident Viewer could come and patch up the wound. Then he'd have to have a blood transfusion before they would release him. Adora had come with Lizzie, who was sitting in a chair nearby, her face pail. Cain had made sure to wash Zero's blood from his hands before the women had arrived.

_He actually took a bullet for me,_ he thought. _The idiot actually took a bullet that was meant for me. _His feeling of guilt was acute. _I should have been paying closer attention…I didn't even see the gun out of the window. How the hell did I miss that? I'm the one who should be lying on a table having a bullet carved out of my body. Careless…stupid!_

He felt a small hand on his shoulder. Turning, he was enveloped in his wife's arms. "If you grind your teeth any harder," said Adora lightly into his ear, "you're going to crack them all." Wyatt pulled back far enough for her eyes to meet his and gave her his classic slightly-less-than-amused look. _Another thing he learned too well from his father…_ She continued. "He's alive, and the healers all say that he's going to be fine. Don't worry about Nells. He's in good hands."

"That bullet was meant for me, Adora," he said firmly. Her face paled slightly. "If it hadn't been for him, I'd most likely be dead."

She pulled his head back down, resting it against her shoulder, and wrapped him more tightly in his arms. She didn't understand, couldn't understand, everything that he was feeling; she just knew that he was frightened and confused. They were both reminded in that moment of exactly how young they really were, and about how much growing up they had yet to do.

"You can't blame yourself, Wyatt," she said quietly. "All you can do is learn from this and move on." He didn't answer; he only drew her to himself tightly. She felt him trembling slightly and placed a hand on his neck, running her hand through is short blond hair.

The door to the waiting area opened and a white-clad Healer came into the waiting room. He stepped toward Lizzie, his voice low. Wyatt held his breath, waiting for her reaction. As a big smile settled across the her face, he let out a sigh of relief. The medic turned to Cain.

"He's been asking for you both. Once we get the transfusion started, you'll be able to speak with him. I'll be back when we're ready for you."

Later, Wyatt stood by Zero's bedside. Lizzie and Adora had excused themselves for a few minutes, so the two Tin Men were able to share a word alone.

"You look like you've been shot in the back," said Cain, trying to keep his tone light and playful while attempting to ignore the medical tubing in Zero's arm that was pumping blood back into his body to replace that which he lost.

"Yeah, no thanks to my half-wit partner," said Zero as he smiled wryly.

Wyatt said nothing for a few moments. Finally, he looked at Zero and opened his mouth. Zero stopped him before he could say anything.

"Don't thank me. You don't need to. How would I have been able to face Adora if I'd let you get killed? Besides, now you owe me one."

Wyatt nodded, hoping that it would be a favor that they wouldn't have to cash in on later.

* * *

Author's Notes: I'm not entirely happy with this chapter. I kinda fought with it the entire time I was writing it (which is why it took three days), so if anyone has any constructive criticism that would make it better, please leave a review.


	6. In the Family Way

Chapter 6 – In the Family Way

Wyatt let his shoulders droop from weariness as he left the station. He was tired. _Tired's__ putting it mildly…_ The team, including Wyatt and his partner Zero, had spent an entire day stationed outside a run-down warehouse on a stakeout that turned into a hostage situation. The negotiators had done their best, but in the end, they'd lost not only the hostage and the dealers, but also one of their own. He'd spent another several hours at the station filling out paperwork. After nearly two years as a Tin Man, and 15 months on the narcotics task force, he was already beginning to wear down.

He trudged through the door to the house that he and Adora had moved into earlier that year, numbly shrugging off his jacket and fully unbuttoning his shirt. He was just beginning to rub at his neck when he looked down to see an envelope on the counter in the kitchen. The return address was for a healer's office on the lower west side of the city. The bill was already open, so he pulled it out and read the amount, eyes widening in disbelief.

"Adora!" he shouted as he walked back to the bedroom to find her. She was sitting at her writing desk and looked up to smile at him. That smile quickly faded when he continued. "What's this? That's a lot of money for a doctor's bill. Why didn't you tell me something was wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, Wyatt," she said simply. "And really the amount is reasonable, when you compare it to other specialists."

"I don't call two-hundred fifty silver 'reasonable.'"

"Did you even read the services rendered part of the bill."

"No," he said flatly.

"Read it," she said with another maddeningly calm smile. That smile only got broader as his eyes widened. He looked at her, the unspoken question on his face. She simply nodded. He didn't do anything for a moment; he just stood there in dumb-founded shock.

Adora stood from her chair, walked to him and took the bill out of his hands and tossed it to the floor. "Wyatt Cain…you're going to be a daddy!" She laughed as he blinked, still dumbstruck. He looked down at her still small belly and merely said "Huhn…" Wyatt didn't move for several moments, and Adora thought he'd be permanently affixed to that spot on the floor with that silly look on his face.

He then put a hand to her cheek and drew her lips to his. His other arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her to him. She parted her lips and let him deepen the kiss, his tongue leading hers in a dance that still communicated his surprise amid his joy. When she broke the embrace, she just beamed at him. Taking that as encouragement, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her to their bed where they had their own private celebration.

* * *

"Congratulations!" said Zero the next morning at the station without waiting for Wyatt to tell him. At his friends puzzled look, Zero added: "Lizzie went with Adora yesterday to the specialist. It's the same one that we went to when we had Zane. He's really good."

Cain just grunted as he slid into his desk, wincing at the pain in the muscles of his back. He hadn't slept much the night before; he'd been too nervous. And his little party with his wife had tested his endurance and pulled several muscles. Zero laughed at his partner's discomfort.

"I take it you received the news the same way I did" he said.

"I almost couldn't move this morning," admitted the younger blond.

"Take advantage of the unfettered access to your wife now," advised Zero with a slight grimace. "Because, believe me, once the baby comes, you'll be lucky to get in one night a month." Cain just stared at him blankly.

"I think that was too much information," Wyatt said with a smirk.

_

* * *

Another warehouse…another raid_ he thought grimly as he stood outside another ramshackle building a week later. They were no closer to taking down the biggest opium dealer in Central City than they had been two years earlier when Cain was dogging the steps of a petty dispenser. He was weary of his job. He hated the feeling of working so hard and not seeing results because they were waiting for warrants and evidence to convict the boss. _This is why I prefer working alone…no bureaucracy to deal with… _Morbidly, he began to wonder which of the officers there would be going home in a body bag that day. 

Zero stood to his left, and both men had their guns trained on the building, eyes scanning for imminent danger. Wyatt was particularly careful to scan the windows, not forgetting the lesson he had learned the hard way. They got the signal to advance and they stalked quietly up to the warehouse from the relative cover of a nearby building. Once the door was kicked open, all hell broke loose. Shots and shouts sounded all around. He remembered seeing a gun turn his direction before he squeezed off two shots, constantly scanning for more assailants.

Cain felt something sear through his upper leg and looked down to see a hole torn through his pants just above the knee. He groaned then fell to the ground behind a barrel, hastily pulling a leather strap out of his pocket. He carried it with him constantly, just in case. Wincing, Cain wrapped it around his leg just above the wound and pulled it tight, roaring at the pain as he drew the strap tight enough to slow his circulation.

Zero called his name, and Cain answered with a shout, trying unsuccessfully to stand on the injured leg. When his partner found him, Wyatt's face was pale and his brow was sweating. He called for another man and they lifted him by the arms, helping his uninjured leg carry him outside. They lowered him onto a waiting stretcher and he was loaded into a van just as he lost consciousness.

* * *

Author's Notes: I know this one is short, but I'm going to try and make up for it soon. Enjoy. As always, reviews are welcome...and I know that you people out there because my hit count keeps going up. Come on, show me some love:-P


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